Trainwreck's new streaming platform Kick has been live for a little while now, so we're going to take a closer look s to how things have developed.
Twitch has got a new rival in the streaming business, as content creator Tyler 'Trainwreck' Niknam has now launched the beta for his new platform, Kick.
Train markets Kick as a creator-friendly platform that will overtake Twitch and seems pretty convinced it will be a surefire success. If you look at the track-record for Twitch's competitors, though, things don't look that promising.
Mixer tried to do so, by buying two of Twitch's biggest streamers, but failed miserably and YouTube is kinda doing something similar, but it just doesn't seem too effective.
YouTube might actually have a shot at beating Twitch, but that is simply because they have a pretty much infinite pool of money to funnel into building their streamer content and an infrastructure that already sustains itself.Adding to that is the fact, that moving to YouTube doesn't damage a streamer's growth nearly as much as a move to Mixer did, it's a more attractive alternative than most other platforms. The reason for this is, that most streamers already cultivated a viewer base on YouTube through clips, etc. So YouTube is already an established competitor.
Kick doesn't have that just yet. Right now, Kick has to start from zero, just like Mixer did in the past. But one thing, it got going for itself, is the experience of a successful streamer that knows exactly how content creators think and how to lure them.
Kick: How Trainwreck Plans To Rival Twitch With His New Streaming Platform
The premise behind Kick, is to build a platform that benefits content creators more. It seems to stem from Trainwreck's frustration with the way Twitch operates.
In that regard, one of the most important improvements, he plans to implement on Kick, is the 95-5 split for subscriptions. Currently, Twitch is taking 50% of a streamers' subscription revenue, which is just insane and has been criticized a lot, as it is incomparable to other competitors.
You shouldn't get to take 50% of someone's income just for being a platform. In any other business model this is an insane notion. Twitch is taking more than any other major platform. If they don't change direction, the next streamer's rise to the top won't be on Twitch. pic.twitter.com/Oby4oFvIdd
— Devin (@DevinNash) October 1, 2022
Kick also offers a 100% split on Donations, called Kicks, for creators. So all the money that pops up in stream goes directly into the creator's piggy-bank. Looks like the main incentive Train offers to his fellow content creators is money.
If you want to jump on the hype-train and become a streamer, you should first get a decent cam .
According to Train, there will also be an “innovative new exclusive creator program”, where partners “won’t have to rely on your subscriber count alone every month”.
He plans to provide a steady income “based on hours watched and total viewers you stream to, with an option to be paid out on the same day”
This sounds too good to be sustainable, but apparently:
Kick will partner with the world’s leading advertisers to generate cash flow [...] I believe that creating the best incentives for creators will lead the best creators to Kick, and the best creators will bring the best advertisers.
This sounds a little fishy. He seems a little over reliant on his incentives attracting enough streamers, to bring the advertisers. If that doesn't happen, his project will die.
Even if that happens, I don't really know if this would work out the way he needs it to.
Kick is really set on improving some aspects of Twitch, that were previously criticized, like the 50-50 subscriber split or the sometimes overly strict enforcement of the Terms of Service. Another point they want to improve on is transparency, as Train wants to make sure there are “no ambiguous bans”.
He was also really public about the topic of gambling and created specific rules around “ethical gambling”. Whether promoting gambling an be considered “ethical” in any way, shape, or form is up for debate.
Kick: A Streaming Platform By Gamblers For Gamblers
If you're wondering how one wealthy streamer plans to establish and sustain a streaming platform, the answer is simple. Get a boatload of money by an Online Casino backing you, so it has its own streaming platform to promote gambling!
Yes, that's right. Kick is backed by Stake, an offshore casino that has been sponsoring Train for a while now.
The popular internet detective Coffeezilla, who just loves exposing scams, uncovered this on Twitter. He also did a great job with addressing thecrypto scam IShowSpeed was involved with and provided solid evidence for his claims.
Trainwreck's new platform is owned by- wait for it.... STAKE. That's why Kick is paying insane creator splits, they're owned by an offshore casino lmao. And it's the reason train is moving, to continue the Stake cash cow.I wonder why Train didn't tell people that https://t.co/3AJT9sJhOt
— Coffeezilla (@coffeebreak_YT) December 6, 2022
This makes a lot of sense, as Twitch has banned exactly the type of gambling you can find on Stake.com.
So if you can't promote your gambling on the biggest streaming platform out there, make the biggest streamer you got in your pocket build your very own, “streamer friendly” platform.
So far, Train hasn't responded to the backlash this revelation caused, but he is sure to defend his backers, the same way he already did when he got called out for gambling, and we all know how that ended.
Will Kick Be A Valid Competitor To Twitch?
Right now, Kick is still a hatchling that just made it out of its shell, but it will be difficult to establish a position in the competitive livestreaming industry.
Train was able to take some big steps, though, by getting fellow Stake sponsored streamer Adin Ross to jump ship and join him on Kick. He is going to need some more big names, though, to really establish his authority on the streaming market.
We've witnessed, that overtaking Twitch is no easy feat. YouTube is trying to do so for a while now and managed to acquire some of the biggest streamers out there, and Kick would have to compete with both of these titans.
Train is asking fans and creators to give Kick a year to grow and mature, but it seems unlikely that it will be able to compete with the absolute giants of the industry.
Think about it, both of these platforms are backed by humongous companies with sh*t tons of money!
But who knows, Twitch just switched CEO's and the new guy seems to have absolutely no clue of how streaming works, so maybe he is just gonna crash Twitch altogether...
Kick is still a small start-up platform, that barely has the infrastructure to function properly. It has a long way to go before it can compete, and it's going to be hard to keep up the lofty ideals if it wants to reach the same size as its competitors.
To be honest, I'm still rooting for them, as further competition might just help Twitch sort things out and get their head back into the game.